Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has opened up on his sensational return to the Euros, which he marked by grabbing Denmark’s opening goal against Slovenia on Sunday.
Eriksen produced a brilliant performance at the Stuttgart Arena but it wasn’t enough as Slovenia restored parity with 13 minutes of regular time left on the clock.
The 32-year-old’s strike early into the first half came three years since he almost lost his life in a European Championship clash after he went into cardiac arrest.
For 13 agonising minutes, the world could only watch and hope for the best as Eriksen, who fell to the floor, was attended to by medical experts.
Luckily, he pulled through and even revived his playing career. It was certainly a beautiful sub-plot that Eriksen registered Denmark’s opening goal of Euro 2024, which set them well on their way.
According to the player himself, he’s happy that the story has changed even though he is disappointed that the national team didn’t ultimately get the win.
Eriksen said after the final whistle, “I do think this time at the Euros my story is very different compared to last time which is obviously a big thing for me personally.”
“I was very pleased. I did have in mind that I hadn’t scored at the Euros. Luckily there’s been a lot of games since that happened [cardiac arrest].”
“I didn’t think about anything else other than football – I was just happy to help the team with the first goal.”
He added, “It would have been a different story if we got the three points – it was a wake-up call heading into the next game.”
Meanwhile, Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand insisted that he never once considered dropping Eriksen from his plans despite critics calling for him to do so amidst his struggles at United in the 2023/24 season.
Hjulmand remarked, “I’ve never doubted Christian as a football player, you cannot hold down that kind of class. He’s a natural player that knows the rhythm of the game, I know the critics have said he hasn’t played so much at Manchester United but he showed quality today. I already can’t wait for the next game.”
Up next for Denmark is a match against England on Thursday.
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